Reading is Fundamental

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), begun in 1960, is the oldest children's literacy organization in the nation. It brings together children and books to promote the love of reading and reading readiness. The program is founded on the principle that children who are read to and then learn to read for themselves become adults who can read, making them more productive, informed citizens.

The state-wide organization Jean Dean RIF is the largest RIF project in the United States serving pre-schoolers. It serves 26,000 at-risk children in more than 550 locations throughout the state, making age-approriate books available to local RIF groups at discounted prices.

The Reading Is Fundamental program has been available to Montevallo Elementary School children in kindergarten and first grade for more than twenty years. It was founded by Betty Wyatt in 1990 and later coordinated by Buddy Freeman, both in collaboration with the Montevallo Kiwanis Club. The Kiwanis Club ran the program for fifteen years until the club ceased to exist in 2005.

Becky Cox Rodgers was involved with Montevallo RIF from 2000 through 2010, serving five years while the Kiwanis Club coordinated the program, and serving the last five as the RIF coordinator, handling the administrative responsibilities and arranging for volunteers to help her with the book distributions to Montevallo Elementary School's kindergarteners and first graders three times a year. Since 2005, Parnell Memorial Library Foundation has served as the fiscal agent for the Montevallo RIF program.

Since 2010, PMLF and the Montevallo Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) have been the primary supporters of RIF. Other local groups and individuals also contribute to RIF, particularly the women in the Montevallo First United Methodist Church and in St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Montevallo and the Montevallo Study Club.

To ensure the sustainability of the RIF program and to strengthen its long-term prospects, the PMLF board agreed at the July 20, 2010 quarterly meeting to give the RIF program an institutional home in PMLF by placing it under the umbrella of the PMLF Literacy Committee. Kate Vogel, a member of the PMLF board and chair of the Literacy Committee, is the coordinator of the Montevallo Reading Is Fundamental program.